A market correction has been noted already this year with prices coming off the high levels seen in peak of 2016-17 when prices at North Island yards such as Feilding, Frankton and Stortford Lodge started at $2.60/kg but peaked at about $3.40/kg for R2 Friesian bulls.
Recently AgriHQ’s Livestock Insight quoted paddock prices for R2 Friesian bulls, 400kg LW, at $2.40/kg with quotes ranging from $2.30-$2.55/kg. Compared with the previous year’s $2.65/kg, current levels are trading at a 15-35c/kg LW deficit though that is relative to schedule prices for M2 bull with a 35c/kg CW decrease at this time last year.
However, despite that correction, this year’s prices alone have come a long way in the last 10 years, like all classes of cattle. In 2008 those selling bulls were budgeting on prices of $1.60-$1.77/kg but roll forward to 2018 and $2.72-$2.84/kg averages were common. That’s an increase of $1.08-$1.12/kg though not all years showed improvement. From 2009 to 2012 prices lifted on average 10-20c/kg year-on-year but drought saw a correction in 2012-13 by a similar level. From there prices continued to climb and the 2014-15 season showed the biggest lift of 30-40c/kg, with a further 15-30c/kg added in 2015-16. In a nutshell, compared to historical data this year’s prices are still relatively high but, of course, bulls are one class of livestock where buyers stick firmly to budgets calculated from schedule prices and outlooks and can prove to be a tough crowd.
Looking back over the historical data it is interesting to see the growth in volume of Friesian bulls available at the yards. In 2007 and 2008 the only significant entries to be found were at Feilding and Frankton but fast-forward to recent times and the likes of those two yards and also Stortford Lodge and Temuka now offer significantly more in the way of volume.
